Abstract
The association between bladder cancer mortality-to-incidence ratios (MIRs) and healthcare disparities has gender differences. However, no evidence supports gender as an issue in the association between changes in the MIR and health expenditures on bladder cancer. Changes in the MIR were defined as the difference in data from the years 2012 and 2018, which was named δMIR. Current health expenditures (CHE) and the human development index (HDI) were obtained from the World Health Organization and the Human Development Report Office. The association between variables was analyzed by Spearman’s rank correlation coefficient. In total, 55 countries were analyzed according to data quality and the exclusion of missing data. Globally, the MIR changed according to the HDI level in both genders. Among the 55 countries studied, a high HDI and CHE were significantly associated with a favorable age-standardized rate-based MIR (ASR-based MIR) in both genders and the subgroups according to gender (for both genders, MIR vs. HDI: ρ = -0.720, p < 0.001; MIR vs. CHE per capita: ρ = -0.760, p < 0.001; MIR vs. CHE as a percentage of gross domestic product (CHE/GDP): ρ = -0.663, p < 0.001). Importantly, in females only, the CHE/GDP but neither the HDI score nor the CHE per capita was significantly associated with a favorable ASR-based δMIR (ASR-based δMIR vs. CHE/GDP: ρ = 0.414, p = 0.002). In the gender subgroups, the association between the HDI and the CHE was statistically significant for females and less significant for males. In conclusion, favorable bladder ASR-based MIRs were associated with a high CHE; however, improvement of the ASR-based δMIR data was more correlated with the CHE in females. Further investigation of the gender differences via a cohort survey with detailed information of clinical-pathological characteristics, treatment strategies, and outcomes might clarify these issues and improve therapeutic and/or screening strategies for bladder cancer.
Highlights
Bladder cancer is the 10th most common cancer worldwide, with a total of 549,000 new cases and 200,000 deaths estimated in 2018 [1,2]
The mortality-to-incidence ratios (MIRs) is defined as the ratio of the crude rate (CR) of mortality and the CR of incidence, as previously described [5,12,13,14]. δMIR is defined as the difference between the MIR in 2012 and 2018 [δMIR = MIR—MIR] [15]
The human development index (HDI) is related to incidence, mortality, and MIR
Summary
Bladder cancer is the 10th most common cancer worldwide, with a total of 549,000 new cases and 200,000 deaths estimated in 2018 [1,2]. The exact cause of bladder cancer is unclear, recent research has clarified that certain risk factors may be related, including smoking, dietary choices, environmental carcinogens, and socioeconomic factors [2]. Smoking is a significant contributor to the risk of bladder cancer [3]. The Surveillance Epidemiology and End Results database from the United States suggests that Black people have a lower incidence rate but a higher mortality rate for bladder cancer, which may indicate that its prevalence is related to race [4]. Bladder cancer incidence and mortality seem to be higher in more developed countries [5]. A recent study demonstrated a rising trend for developing countries in Asia and Central and Eastern Europe [6]. The trends of incidence and mortality regarding different regions, genders, and healthcare systems demand closer evaluation
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